Cuisine of Thailand

C O U N T R Y A N D C U I S I N E O V E R V I E W

Thailand is located in Southeast Asia. It has a population of over 64 million. The capital of the country is Bangkok. The climate of the country is tropical, so monsoons are prevalent. The top two languages spoken in the country are Thai and English. The country has boundaries with Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia. Ethnically the country is 75% Thai; 14% Chinese; and 11% is devoted to other ethnicities. At 95% of the population Buddhism is the dominant religion.

Thai cuisine is often considered one of the tastiest cuisines in the world. They have a wide variety of offerings when it comes to dishes. Spiciness and aroma aside, their food is well balanced. Thai people spend a great amount of time outside because of the weather. Most of the restaurants are open air and patios style. Thai dishes are known for their fusion of strong flavors. Their foods are mostly Spicy, sour, salty, sweet or bitter.

M A I N I N G R E D I E N T S

Every country has main staple of ingredients that they use often. Indians use Garam masala, garlic, ginger, etc. Thailand is no different, with its variety of ingredients that make its food so flavorful.

• Glass noodles or bean thread noodles are translucent and thing and known to absorb flavors.

• Rice, Brown rice, Sticky Rice.

• Thai curry paste create some of the most popular dishes known. Red, Green and Yellow are the three most popular pastes.

• Coconut milk is the staple ingredient that brings sweetness to Thai dishes if needed.

• Lemon grass is a stalky plant with a lemon scent. Provides bitter flavor and aroma to dishes.

• Galangal similar to ginger has a peppery flavor and is used in curry pastes, soups etc.

• Eggplant

• Chili Oil

• Nam pla – aromatic fish sauce with a strong taste.

• Kaffir lime leaves – used primarily in soups for aroma and zest flavor.

• Spices - pong ka-ree (curry powder), pong pa-loh (five-spice powder), prik Thai (Thai pepper) and nam prik pao (roasted chilli paste).

• Broccoli (A misconception) – even though broccoli is seen western foods, the ingredient is actually mostly absent from traditional Thai cooking and rarely found in the country.

• Banana leaves – can serve as exotic backgrounds or to add flavor to foods.

Thai food is extremely versatile with recipes ranging over many geographic locations in the country as well as flavors. Below are some popular Thai